D-vitamin may protect against eye disease

High intake of D-vitamin may lower the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness, by nearly 60%, according to a new study.

Having high levels of D-vitamin in your blood may be useful for reducing your risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), at least if you are a woman and younger than 75 years of age. A scientific report published in the April issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology found that women up to the age of 75 who had the highest intake of D-vitamin were 59 per cent less likely to develop AMD compared with women who had the lowest intake.

The study, which is the second of its kind to show an inverse relation between D-vitamin status and AMD risk, is based on data from a total of 1,313 women. The researchers, led by Amy E. Millen, Ph.D., of the School of Public Health and Health Professions, at the University at Buffalo, New York, chose to look at blood levels of 25(OH)D, which is the preferred biomarker for D-vitamin status, as it reflects both oral intake of D-vitamin as well as D-vitamin from sunlight exposure.

AMD is a chronic eye condition that causes the macula to degenerate, eventually leading to irreversible vision loss. The condition affects close to 10% of adults from 40 years and older in the developed countries.

Source:

Vitamin D Status and Early Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Postmenopausal Women.

Archives of Ophthalmology, 2011; 129 (4): 481-489

Facts about D-vitamin

D-vitamin is found in certain foods, especially in oily fish. It is also synthesized in our skin when we expose ourselves to sunlight. Research shows that people who live in the Northern hemisphere are unable to produce enough D-vitamin in the wintertime because of the limited sun exposure. Even in the summer period it may be difficult to get enough.

An alternative option is D-vitamin supplementation with e.g. D-Pearls, a D-vitamin preparation with small “pearls” of gelatin capsules that contain 38 micrograms of vitamin D3 in olive oil for improved bio-availability.